A Quiet Mind
by mrivera85
Summary: He's dating her to appear normal. Only he knows he is anything but. He has everything anyone could ever want except the one thing he needs: A Quiet Mind.


Quiet Mind  
A slow strangle with feet on the floor  
I've got 14 angels and we're sleeping alone  
In the back of a cave, where the rest of us go  
To feel normal

All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Song belongs to Blue October.

"Edward."

"Edward!"

"Hey punk ass!" I pulled out my ear buds and looked up from the book I was currently immersed in and looked into the blue eyes of my sister, Rosalie.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"What are you still doing up here? We have guests downstairs and you've locked yourself off in here for the past four hours." My sister's icy glare made stronger men fall; however, it didn't faze me in the slightest.

"I'm studying. I have a test that's coming up and I need to make sure that I know this book front to back."

"Bullshit. You already have that book memorized. You've had it memorized since the first week of your classes. You have no excuses."

"I have every excuse. Besides, your friends aren't exactly guests anymore. They are here more than I am." I mumbled and opened the book I was reading back to where I left off. I had the ear buds halfway back in when my sister spoke again.

"Edward, when are you going to try to get out of your head for a little bit and have some fun? I miss hanging out with my brother. All I ever see you do is study, go to class, and sleep. I know classes are tough, but can't you spare a little time for your only sister?" She pulled out the big guns now, the Cullen pout. I sighed as I closed the book I was reading and turned off my Ipod. I saw her face light up and I had to put a stop to it before it got too far.

"I'll come down for an hour. But then I need to get back to studying. You know I don't like being around too many people, not when I have a lot on my mind." I opened the door of my study and held out my hand to motion for her to go ahead.

"Thank you, big brother. It means a lot to me. And don't worry. Tanya's down there, so you won't be obligated to engage in the conversation. You can let her do the talking. I just miss being around you. You've been swamped with school work and it seems like I saw you more when I was still at home." We had reached the bottom of the stairs at this point and she turned around to look at me. I took her hand in mine.

"I know Rosie, and I'm sorry. This is my last semester of a full course load. Next semester I'll be working at the hospital most the time, so I want to make sure I get the best grades I can while I can. Spring break is coming up, we can go visit Mom and Dad and I'll leave all the books at home. How does that sound?" She looked up at me with hopeful eyes and nodded her head.

"Great, now I believe we have some entertaining to do. Let's go." I took her hand and guided her into the sitting room where all her friends were gathered.

"Eddie! I was wondering when you'd make an appearance." The shrill voice of Tanya Denali echoed off the walls as soon as we stepped through the doorway. She ran over to me and placed a kiss on my cheek, pushing my sister out of the way. Rosalie scoffed and turned to sit on the couch next to Emmett, who was currently playing the video game.

"Hello Tanya. I apologize for my absence; I was studying for an upcoming test. I lost track of time." I headed for the chair on the other side of the room. She followed and placed herself on my lap once I was seated. The room continued the conversation as if nothing had interrupted.

"Hey Al, are you up for shopping this weekend? I need to get a few things for Spring Break." Rosalie questioned.

"What kind of question is that? When have you known me to not be ready for any type of shopping?" Alice chastised from her seat next to Jasper. Jasper just chuckled and shook his head.

I continued to listen to the two of them plan their shopping trips, while Tanya invited herself along. _Three papers left to write. A lab to finish that's not due until next week. Need to get with my lab partner, Ben to get his notes on that lab too. Remind Rosalie to pick up something nice for Mom while she's out this weekend. Find that book that I need from the library tomorrow while on campus. Take the Volvo into the shop before the week to get Rose to change the oil. Get with Lou to discuss getting the jet ready for the trip out to Forks. _Once I zoned out, all these thoughts bombarded me at once. Mentally making a checklist and compartmentalizing what needs to be done and when, I turned my main focus back to the conversation at hand just as a question was thrown my way.

"Hey, Edward. When are you guys leaving for your parent's house?" Emmett was still staring at the flat screen racing his car as he asked the question.

"Oh, um, I need to get with Lou, but I'm thinking we would probably leaving Friday night or Saturday morning. Whatever is good for Rose. Why?" I mentally moved the checklist around to talk to Lou sooner rather than later.

"I was thinking about taking Rose out before you guys left since I won't see her for a week. I just wanted to know the schedule to plan ahead, ya know?" He said quietly so the girls couldn't hear him over their shopping talk.

"Sounds good. I'll just make it for Saturday and we'll be good." _Item list 5. Make flight plans move to Item list 2. _

"Hey Rose, my hour's up. I need to get back on those books. Will you walk me up?" I turned to my sister before gently removing Tanya from my lap.

"Sure big brother. Everything alright?" She questioned.

"Yeah, just wanted to discuss our flight plans with you before I head back up.

"Sounds good."

"Good night everyone. See everyone later. Good night Tanya." I gave her a small peck on the cheek before following my sister out of the hallway.


End file.
